The History of Money

By Jack Weatherford

Book Overview

In his most widely appealing book yet, one of today's leading authors of popular anthropology looks at the intriguing history and peculiar nature of money, tracing our relationship with it from the time when primitive men exchanged cowrie shells to the imminent arrival of the all-purpose electronic cash card. 320 pp. Author tour. National radio publicity. 25,000 print.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517599805
• ISBN13: 9780517599808
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Crown
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic introduction to financial history

This is a fantastic introduction to financial history. With equal weight given to the financial, political, historical, and anthropological aspects of money throughout multiple cultures and time periods, the net effect is an understanding of what drives monetary decisions the world over which relies on something other than "I need to get paid." In this book, you will find enlightening references to key milestones in the development of money as the key facilitator of economic progress, including: * Initial transition from totem objects to coins * The long and inglorious history of currency debasement * The development of bills-of-exchange and the first (and second) continental banking system * The curious history of the dollar and cash in the US * The westward progress of monetary capitals from Lydia to Greece to Rome to Tuscany to London to New York * The transition between cash and near-cash to electronic money and its implication for future economic decisions * The awkward and futile role of governments in slowing the growth of the money supply. I highly recommend this to anyone. Whether a refresher history for money market professionals or an introduction for the simply curious, this is a quick and worth-while read that will open your eyes as to the surprisingly consistent development of monetary history.

Outstanding!

I have defined history as: a series of wars with interludes of peace in which events occur that setup the next war. My clever definition is absolutely challenged in this highly recommended book. I have heard somewhere that a true sign of intelligence is the ability to say much with just a few words. Weatherford manages to convincibly condense and organize history in terms of money. Of particular interest to me was Part III, 'Electronic Money,' where the author talks about inflation, the cash culture (i.e., of the poor) and the incredible trillions of dollars which exist only electronically - that contrast with the relatively tiny amount of Federal Reserve notes actually in circulation (it will make you think). I could hardly put this 'read' down once I started it.

Typical Jack Weatherford book: Excellent!

I was afraid this might be another dry, boring book about money, written for business people. It is anything but dry or boring and a great read for anyone. This is an outstanding book full of interesting facts, history, anthropology, and just good story-telling. I have now read these other Weatherford books too & they were both excellent: "Indian Givers" and "Savages & Civilization."

A textbook for High School and College

So important an explanation of the impact of money on the economic, social, historical, political and even racial development of mankind that it is required reading for one Atlanta 9th Grade Gifted Student Program. The true stories illustrate everything. It makes you stop and shake your head often at learning something - and I say this a 55 year old educated CEO of a company who devours business and technology books. This is just fabulous reading. Read it, give it to a kid, then talk to them about it afterward. Wow.

A Researcher Who Used This Book

This book was very helpful to me on a project of mine on credit cards. It was the only book I could find that had the history of the credit card. Without it, me and my friends might have not been able to complete our project. This is a kid who's talking here and I say buy this book to learn anything you need about the wonderful world of money.